Top 5 cursed horror films

No doubt it was probably way before we should have been witnessing such gruesome and frightening scenes and had only ourselves to blame for having to sleep with light on for weeks afterwards (Just me? Think you might be fibbing).

Of course they weren’t real, though. Movies can’t hurt us. Or can they..?

1. The Exorcist (1973)

Probably one of the most frightening movies ever made. Fact. The story of the movie’s curse as most people would believe, is that the evil entity latched on to the movie itself, thus dooming everybody who was involved in the filmmaking process. At several points during filming, a real priest was brought in to bless the set, but that didn’t stop creepy things from happening. For starters, the body count off-screen was higher than in the movie, with nine people associated with the film dying including two actors. The house set also burned down apart from Regan’s room which remained intact. Then, at the film’s premier in Rome, a church opposite the theatre was struck my lightening causing the roof’s cross to tumble to the ground. Satan really didn’t want this film to be made did he?

2. The Omen (1976)

Three years after The Exorcist, Satan got another shot at the silver screen. Telling the story of the Devil’s child being raised by unknowing – and rather unlucky – parents, the film was cursed from the offset. Gregory Peck and screenwriter David Seltzer were aboard planes struck by lightning, while producer Harvey Bernhard was almost struck by lightning and director Richard Donner’s hotel was bombed by the IRA. Perhaps even more unnerving, shortly after the film’s release, special effects director John Richardson and his assistant Liz Moore were involved in a serious car accident in the Netherlands – on Friday, August 13, 1976. Moore was decapitated in a way that was identical to a death in the film. A sign next to the crash site read ‘Ommen, 66.6 m’... scared yet?

3. Poltergeist (1982)

They’re heeeere...Most 80s kids grew up hearing the creepy goings-on associated with the Poltergeist. It all started with the rumour that real human skeletons were used which kick-started a curse that spanned the entire franchise. Several cast members lost their lives, most notably young star Heather O’Rourke – who died at just 12 years old.

Dominique Dunne, who played Dana Freeling in the original film, was murdered by an angry ex-boyfriend aged 22. Other casualties of the curse include Poltergeist 2 stars Will Sampson and Julian Beck. A Native American shaman, Sampson allegedly performed a ritual to rid the set of evil spirits but was unsuccessful.

4. The Conjuring (2013)

Based on the true story of paranormal investigators Ed and Lorraine Warren who helped rid a Rhode Island family plagued by and evil spirit. The filming was fraught with its own creepy experiences. Actress Vera Farmiga found slashes made by claws on her lap top and her legs made by an unknown entity and an unexplained wind was often felt on the set and the hotel where the cast and crew were staying also burned down. The original also spawned a sequel that was also fraught with weird and unexplained happenings. Some people just don’t know when to quit.

5. Rosemary’s Baby (1968)

The story of an unsuspecting woman falling victim to a group of Satanists is among the most haunting films ever made, but the deaths and strange occurrences surrounding its production might be even scarier than the movie itself. The curse affected the film’s producer, composer, and director, with each suffering a unique horror soon after the completion of the movie. It started with letters sent to producer William Castle telling him that “You have unleashed evil on the world. My prediction is you will slowly rot during a long and painful illness which you have brought upon yourself”. Shortly after, he was hospitalised with kidney failure. A few months after shooting ended, the film’s composer Kryzystof komeda died suddenly from a brain haemorrhage eerily echoing the death of the character Hutch in the film. The curse may also have extended to director Roman Polanski’s family as the following year, Sharon Tate was murdered by the Charles Manson Family.

Where these films really cursed or was it all down to a case of very bad luck, an act of God or the act of something much more sinister..?

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